Dustin Dickeson is the first one to admit he's had a troubled past.
A life of crime and many bad choices shone the spotlight brightly on Dickeson, in a negative way.
Years later he's trying to change those negative perceptions inside the ring turning to mixed martial arts (MMA) as his saviour.
"I was always in the life of crime and doing the wrong thing," Dickeson said.
"I needed that excitement in my life, but I was doing the wrong things with it. After I got out of jail, I met some guys who trained in the martial arts and all of a sudden it just overwhelmed me."
That was three and a half years ago, and now he feels he's on the right path.
"All I wanted to do was train and push myself to the next level," he said. "The whole sport took my time away from the bad things. It was a life changing experience."
Dickeson starting fighting at 205, but soon realized being the biggest guy in the ring doesn't necessarily translate into victories.
"I was tough because I would dominate, then I'd get tired really quickly and I realized that I was a long way away from being a top fighter," he said. "That kind of motivated me, so I really started training, upped my conditioning, and now I'm fighting at 155."
Dickeson first started training in North Van-couver, then met a promoter in Edmonton, who became his mentor. Mar-cus Hicks, the current North-west Canadian heavyweight champion, is a person Dickeson looks up to and who he said has really helped his budding career. Dickeson has now set up a home gym at his home here on the Coast and is training with his friends.
"I've dedicated my life to this sport. I have no need for the other things that used to dominate my life," he said.
His ultimate goal is not unlike any MMA fighter - the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) - but Dickeson knows he has a long road ahead.
"That's a far-off dream for sure," he said. "The Northwest Canadian Lightweight belt is certainly a goal. I think the promoter likes me and I think I have a pretty good shot at that."
Dickeson won his last fight at the 25th North American Challenge in North Vancouver, bringing his overall record to 4-3. All seven of his fights were sanctioned and several were with King of the Cage and other organizations. He's also featured on the promotional video and DVD from North American Challenge that is available for sale at Seaside Video in Trail Bay Centre.
A further movie career might also be in the future as he's been contacted by several producers from locally shot television shows in the Lower Mainland to appear as a stunt man.
"I'm meeting with a producer next week. It would be exciting to be in a movie, do some fight scenes and stuff," he said. "I'm just taking fighting and each fight one at a time. It's the type of sport where you have to keep battling. I've had a rocky road, but looking back on things, I'm happy with where my life is at now and where I'm heading."
